Annunciator.



No. 896,793. PATENTED AUG. 25, 1908.

I E. BAUM.

ANNUNGIATOR.

- APPLICATION FILED SEPT.19',1907.

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EDWARD BAUM, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

ANNUNCIAIOR.

Application filed September To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD BAUM, a citizen of the United. States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Annunciators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawing.

My improvement relates particularly to electricannunciators designed to indicate such facts as whether the occupant of a room or group of rooms is in or out.

The apparatus comprises a plurality of compartments in the front of each of which is a sign which is invisible excepting when illuminated by a light located within said compartment behind said sign. Adjacent to said compartments is an electric push button which is on a return wire forming a part of the circuit for each of said compartments, said return wire being normally broken at said push button, so that the current is normally broken for the lights in each of said compartments. A switch is applied to the several circuits upon which the lights of said compartments are located, whereby any one of said compartments may be put into circuit with said push button. But, as already stated, the circuit is normally open at said push button, so that, although said switch is so set as to put a particular one of several compartments into circuit with the push button, the circuit will not be closed and the lights in that compartment will not be rendered active. Hence the lights of all of said compartments are normally inactive. For convenience in description, said lights are herein termed, temporary lights. The said switch is set from time to time to bring the desired compartment into circuit, so that a caller, in pressing the button, will see the appropriate sign illuminated and readable, the signs of the other compartment or compartments being invisible.

As a further feature of my invention, an electric light may be placed adjacent said. compartments and said push button to illuminate the exterior space adjacent to said apparatus; and such light is preferably lo cated within a compartment adjacent to said push button behind a transparent or semitransparent sign directing attention to the push button; and said electric light is preferably upon a circuit or a branch of a circuit which is normally closed, in order that any Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 25, 1908.

19, 1907. Serial No. 393,601.

person in the vicinity of said apparatus may be directed thereto by said light. For convenience in description, said light is hereintermed the constant light. And the circuit upon which said light is located and the circuits upon which the temporary lights in said first mentioned compartments are located are preferably placed in such relation with said pushbutton as that when said button is pressed, the circuit upon which said constant light is located becomes broken and the current theretofore going through said circuit is made to go through the circuit upon which one of the temporary lights is then in circuit. Obviously, only one light may be used in each of said compartments; but when the compartments are elongated, two will serve better. An electric bell may be placed upon one or more of the temporary light circuits.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of an apparatus embodying my improvement, the upper of two compartments containing temporary lights being illuminated; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same apparatus showing the second of said two compartments illuminated; Fig. 3 is an upright section on the line, 3-3, of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the arrangement of the wires, etc., to form the several circuits; Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the push button.

Referring to said drawings, A is a case formed of any suitable material, and adapted to rest with its back, B, against a wall. In the form shown in the drawings, said case is divided into three compartments, C, D, and E, the compartments, 0 and D, having each at its front a glass or other similar sign, A which is invisible excepting when there is a light within said compartment behind said sign. One or more lights may be placed in each of said compartments. The drawings show two incandescent electric lights, 1", 1", in the compartment, C, and two incandescent electric lights, 1 1, in the compartment, D, said lights being secured to the upright end walls, F, F, of said case.

The compartment, E, is provided at its front with a sign, A which is to be read at all times and may, therefore, be called a permanent sign. (In the drawings, said sign is a continuation of the glass used in forming the signs, A in front of the compartments, C and D.) The purpose of said sign in front of the compartment, E, is to direct a caller to the apparatus and particularly to the push button.

G is the push button. This may be of any desired form, but is preferably of the duplex form illustrated in Fig. 5 and hereinafter described.

H (Fig. 4) is a two-way switch.

I is a bell and J is a generator.

As shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the switch, II, is set to put the temporary lights, 1, of the compartment, 0, into circuit for the illumination of the sign in front of said compartment when the button, G, is pressed. The circuit for said lights is as follows: from the generator, J, through the wire, 1, switch, II, wire, 2, bell, I, wire, 3, the wires, 4 and 5, and the lights, 1, the wire, 6, the button, G, and the wire, 7.

Then the switch is changed, the temporary lights, 1 in the compartment, D, are brought into circuit for the illumination of the sign in front of said compartment upon the pressing of the button. The circuit for said compartment is as follows: from the generator, J, through the wire, 1, switch, H, wire, 8, lights, 1 and wires, 9 and 10, wire, 11, the return wire, 6, the button, G, and the return wire, 7. The circuit for the constant lights, 1", in the compartment, E, is as follows: from the generator, J, through the wire, 12, the lights, 1 the wires, 13 and 14, the wire, 15, the button, G, and the wires, 16 and 7, the button being normally closed, as to the wires, 15 and 16, as will now be described in connection with Fig. 5.

K is a suitable casing having the bottom, L, an upper wall, M, and a transverse partition, N. Through said wall, M, and partition, N, extends a shaft, 0, the upper end of said shaft projecting outside of said casing a suitable distance, and the lower end of said shaft extending only a little way below said partition, N. Immediately below said partition, said shaft is surrounded by a fixed collar, P, and below said collar said shaft is surrounded by an expanding coiled spring, Q, which bears against said collar and against the lower wall, L, of said casing. By means of said spring, said shaft is normally held with said collar bearing against said partition, N, but said shaft is free to be pressed downward until its lower end bears against said bottom, L. In the upper portion of said casing are located a air of electrodes, R, one being at each side 0 said shaft. Across said shaft extends a conductor, T, which is normally in contact with each of said electrodes,

R. Below the electrodes, R, is another pair of similar electrodes, S, the distance between the lower pair of electrodes and the upper pair being approximately equal to the dis tance between the lower end of said shaft and the bottom, L, of said casing, in order that when said shaft is pushed downward,

said conductor may free itself from the electrodes, R, R, and engage itself between the electrodes, S, S, whereby the circuit of which the wires, 15 and 16, applied to the electrodes, R, R, form a part shall be broken and the circuit of which the wires, 6 and 7, ap plied to the electrodes, S, S, form a part may be closed. The wires, 15 and 16, just described in connection with Fig. 5 are the wires, 15 and 16, of Fig. 4, and the Wires, 6 and 7, just described in connection with Fig. 5 are the wires, 6 and 7, of Fig. 4..

It will nowbe understood that the lights, 1 in the compartment, IE, will be normally active and the sign in front of said lights normally illuminated, for the circuit wires leading to said lights from the generator are continuous excepting at the push button, and there the circuit is normally continuous through the electrodes, R, R, and the conductor, T, upon the shaft, 0. It will also now be understood that when a caller presses the shaft, 0, of the button, whereby the conductor, T, is moved from between the electrodes, R, R, and in serted between the electrodes, S, S, said constant light circuit is broken and said lights extinguished, while one of the circuits (according to the setting of the switch, H) bearing temporary lights is made complete and the lights in the corresponding compartment rendered active and the sign in front of said lights illuminated and made readable.

Obviously, the constant light circuit may pass by the button, G, so that the constant lights are not extinguished while the button is being pressed for the closing of one of the temporary light circuits; but the arrangement shown has these advantages, namely: that when one of the temporary light circuits is closed, the entire current is applied to said circuit, so that the lights upon said circuit are made stronger; and by extinguishing the constant lights, without reference to the stronger current, the temporary lights are made more effective on account of the absence of illumination in the adjacent constant light compartment.

The generator, J, is shown only for convenience in description. In practice, the apparatus will usually derive current from an ordinary incandescent light circuit.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus of the nature described, a plurality of adjacent compartments having invisible signs, an electric light within each of said compartments, a branch electric circuit for the light of each of said compartments, a switch for said branch circuits, and another compartment containing an electric light on a branch circuit, and a duplex push button normally closing said last-mentioned branch circuit and adapted to break said branch circuit and close one of the other branch circuits, substantially as herein described.

2. In an a paratus of the nature described, a plurality of adjacent compartments having invisible signs, an electric light Within each of said compartments, a branch electric circuit for the light of each of said compartments, a switch for said branch circuits, and another com artment bearing a sign and containing an e ectric light on a branch circuit, and a duplex push button normally closing said last-mentioned circuit and adapted to break said branch circuit and close one of the other branch circuits, substantially as herein described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 15 tenth day of September, in the year one thousand nine hundred and seven.

EDWARD BAUM. 

